


Direct Sunlight

by thelabours



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, columnist!hanamaki, gratuitous use of shakespeare quotes, hanamaki is a shakespeare nerd, illustrator!hinata, tbh the only reason i wrote this is bc their ship name is hinahana/hanahina, they work at a newspaper, trust me there's a lot of it, which is literally sunflower (lmao let me live i know it isn't really)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 22:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9790199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelabours/pseuds/thelabours
Summary: in which Hinata breaks a mug and receives unsolicited Shakespeare quotes





	

**Author's Note:**

> ye lol so this is track 8 from the second season clearly i am Incompetent and Can't Go In A Linear Fashion but hey (hey hey)

Hinata Shouyou and Hanamaki Takahiro work in the same office building. They’ve passed each other in the hallways once or twice, never really paying attention except to exchange a polite smile, hurrying towards opposite ends of the hallway to their respective departments.

They share a break room. However, they do not share break times. Hinata takes his milky coffee (with two dollops of cream) early morning and Hanamaki takes his black (with three spoons sugar) mid-morning after he has brainstormed for new article pieces to show Oikawa after lunch.

Hanamaki is, without doubt, one of the best column writers in the industry. The firm is ecstatic to have him. On the downside, he has to be able to write poetry to humour and everything in between. He has his own office, down a couple of doors from the illustrations department, and he’s best friends with Oikawa Tooru, Features Editor extraordinaire. He also assigns Shakespeare quotes to everyone he knows because _Shakespeare_.

Hinata is, without doubt, atrocious with deadlines, much to the Graphics Editor, Sawamura Daichi’s chagrin. He’s their newest (and best _est_ , he says) illustrator. Bright, bold lines and simplistic humour have granted him his own section for his comic (called ‘ _Tales of The Little Giant_ ’). He also really _really_ likes volleyball because _volleyball_.

Hanamaki is quiet, occasionally loud, chiming in with witty wisecracks.

Hinata is loud, occasionally quiet, with bouts of concentration, cleaning up lineart.

So when Hanamaki walks into the breakroom to have his Cup of Death (dubbed as such by one Kuroo Tetsurou—Advertising Manager and who strikes Hanamaki as _The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool_ kind of fellow—after taking one sip and proclaiming he felt his soul leave his body completely), it takes him a moment to locate the absence of his favourite duck shaped monstrosity of a mug. Instead, he finds a yellow post-it note saying (in terrible handwriting, it needs to be noted):

_Dear whoever-owns-the-duck-mug,  
I’m really sorry!!! I didn’t mean to break it!!!! My cup was right behind it and it sort of tipped over and fell before I could catch it!!! I hope I can pay you back for it!!!_

Hanamaki quirks an eyebrow at this, staring at the post-it note and makes a quick decision. He runs back to his office and grabs a stack of post-its, and writes _sorry, but that one was my favourite where are you going to find another novelty piece of art like that again? And who are you, you forgot to sign the note, smarty-pants._

He sticks the note inside the blue mug that would have stood behind his Ducky and hopes it’s the right one. Then, he goes to Starbucks.

He returns the next day and sees another note:

_Dear whoever-owns-the-duck-mug,_  
_You didn’t sign the note either!!!! I’m hinata shouyou!_  
_I’m really sorry I broke your mug, do you know where I can buy another? I cant seem to fin it online!!!_  
_Have a nice day!!!!_  
_~hinata_

There is a doodle of a duck under his name.

It takes Hanamaki a moment to find a face to match the name. He snorts when he finally remembers that Hinata is Short. _Makes sense he wouldn’t be able to reach a cabinet this high up._

He writes back:

_Fair point. Except, I don’t know you. My mother taught me not to give out personal details to a stranger, so sorry._  
_(the mug was a gift from a friend, and I treasured it very much, may she rest in duck heaven)._

He tells Oikawa about the duck, and Oikawa says, “about time, I thought you hated the damned thing.” _No legacy is so rich as honesty. Thanks Oikawa_.

Hanamaki feigns outrage and gasps, “no way, it was a treasured birthday gift that had a special place in my heart!”

“Well, it has a special place in the bin now. Just like you will be if you don’t quit complaining. Who broke it anyway, why don’t you go bug them?”

“You know that shorty in Graphics? Hinata Shouyou?”

Oikawa huffs out a laugh. “Figures it’d be him. Sawacchi told me he drank his paint water instead of coffee one time.”

They talk a little longer before Hanamaki leaves to actually go Do Some Productive Work (spoiler: he doesn’t. He thinks about Hinata Shouyou and his paint water). 

Their back-and-forth with post-its goes on, Hinata leaving doodles and exclamation marks and using his (less than mediocre) detective skills to try and figure out who Hanamaki is. Hanamaki is still withholding his name. Secretly, he’s afraid Hinata will quit talking (writing?) to him once he reveals the big mystery. 

_What’s in a name? a rose by any name would smell as sweet._

_Are you saying you wear rose perfume? I’m gonna find you!!!_  
_~hinata_

Soon, it becomes the highlight of his day and every time he traces the doodles on the paper, he feels like sunlight is warming him up from the inside. He writes that thought down for a later article. But really, his (unconventional) friendship makes him weirdly happy.

Then, the notes stop coming. For a whole _week_. With no warning. Hanamaki is (understandably) upset. He’s become used to seeing yellow bits of paper on his desk (that he may or may not reread when he needs ideas, don’t judge him) that it feels empty and cold when his hand feels the wooden cabinet instead of smooth yellow paper with cute doodles on it.

“I literally feel the sad face emoji right now” he complains to Iwaizumi (who was a very _give every man thy ear, but few thy voice_ kinda guy), who has come to visit Oikawa during his break.

“I think I’m going to throw up because you said those words with your own mouth.”

“ _There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so_ , dearest Hajime.”

“You’re literally the embodiment of ‘ _I burn, I pine, I perish_ ’. You know who he is, go talk to him.”

 _Uh-oh, shouldn’t have taken English Lit with Hajime_.

“ _The course of true love never did run smooth._ ” _Double uh-oh, should not have let Hajime date Tooru and teach him all the tricks_.

“Whatever, I’ll just get back to writing funny articles about being single and try to slip in as many Billy Shakes analogies as I can. Again. Thanks, guys.”

He walks back mumbling something along the lines of _now is the winter of my discomfort_ when he passes the breakroom. He spots a bright orange head, furtively looking this way and that before jumping up, trying to unlock the cabinet.

Hanamaki’s brain chooses this time to direct his body into the room. _No, brain, no what are you doing._

“Can I help you?” his mouth asks. _Haha it seems I’m possessed because why else would I be doing this_.

Hinata jumps back, hiding something under his mud-and-yellow stained overalls. “N-no, thanks, Hanamaki-san.”

Hanamaki stiffens, before realising there’s no way Hinata knows it’s him.

He shrugs and turns to leave when: “Hanamaki-san, wait.” Hanamaki turns. “I looked online and stuff but I couldn’t find the mug or anything that looked like it. Your friend must have had it custom made? The point is I couldn’t find it so I, uh, made one for you?”

Logically, the first thing Hanamaki asks is, “How did you know it was me?”

Hinata turns an endearing shade of pink before handing him the ugliest mug that vaguely (if Hanamaki squints hard enough) looks like a duck. He’s so overwhelmed that he would like if you did not pass judgement for what he does next.

“Oikawa-san came by and told me it was you when I first sent you that no—“

His words are stopped by Hanamki’s lips and for a moment time stands still. Hanamaki’s insides are burning as if he were standing in direct sunlight on a hot afternoon.

His brain decides to relinquish control just about then and Hanamaki stands up. Hinata is looking at him, his face expressionless. The warmth gives way to frigid fear.

_Cold, indeed, and labour lost. Then, farewell, heat, and welcome, frost!_

Then, Hinata opens his mouth (and Hanamaki swears he nearly died). “ _Tempt not a desperate man_ , Hanamaki-san.” And launches himself at Hanamaki.

They are found like this by Oikawa and Hanamaki had not fully understood the quote ‘ _there are daggers in men’s smiles_ ’ until then and they make a run for it.

They part ways in the hallway a whisper of a promise for dinner, for more against each other’s lips and lingering stares at each other’s backs. It would be adorable if Oikawa wasn’t trying to run a successful company.

Later, over dinner, Hinata gives Hanamaki a painting (in which Hanamaki is staring at a duck and it is equal parts oddly amusing and extremely thoughtful) and tells him about watercolours. In return, Hanamaki tells him about his thing for Shakespearean quotes. (“I took English Lit in college with my friend. It was _not_ and I quote ‘lit as fuck’”).

\--

Six months later, Hanamaki wakes up next to Hinata on a Sunday morning and sees him bathed in pale early morning light. He checks the time ("5 am, ew, going back to sleep"). before he drifts off he kisses Hinata's forehead softly. he thinks of this right before he dozes off, pulling the other closer so he could bury his face in Hinata's fluffy hair (which always _always_ smells like ink):

“ _It is the East, and Hinata is the sun._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> i am aware i was being Extra while writing this but hey i _love_ Shakespeare haha what do u mean i was projecting 
> 
> kudos to u if u got all the quotes, google the rest (because i'm lazy as hekc) i'm rly sure that most quotes don't have the exact meaning here as in the original context but yano what screw that it sounds gr9 here
> 
> lmk if you liked it i Need to be Validated pls


End file.
